This invention relates to a tablet package.
It will be clear from the following description that the invention could be utilised by solids in other than tablet form, and the word xe2x80x9ctabletxe2x80x9d should therefore be construed to include small amounts of solid material in other suitable forms, such as powder or granules. However, it is expected that the invention will find its greatest utility for medicants and the like which are in conventional xe2x80x9ctabletxe2x80x9d form, and the following description will therefore relate predominantly to such utility.
Many medicants such as headache relieving drugs are sold in solid form, usually in the form of a tablet. Some types of of tablet are soluble and are intended to be dissolved in water before consumption; others are substantially insoluble in water and are intended to be consumed in solid form. However, even with a substantially insoluble tablet it is recommended that the tablet be placed in the mouth and then a quantity of water be drunk to carry the tablets into the stomach.
Thus, it is known that certain tablet formulations are corrosive outside the stomach, so that if the tablet should become lodged in the throat it can cause damage to the user. There is also the possibility of the individual choking on a tablet which is attempted to be swallowed without water.
A tablet should ideally be maintained dry and clean before use, and a known package incorporates individual sealing means for the tablet in the form of a xe2x80x9cblister packxe2x80x9d comprising a wrapping of aluminium foil and/or plastic or the like. To open the wrapping and expose the tablet, it is known to press the tablet towards the aluminium foil until the foil breaks.
Medicants in tablet form are often sold in boxes containing a certain number of tablets, individually sealed in a wrapping such as that described above. Users of such medicants will often maintain a store of tablets at their home or other suitable location, for use as and when required.
Often, users will take tablets without water notwithstanding the potential dangers of such practice. The required quantity of clean water may not be readily available, and the user may not wish to take the time or trouble to obtain it.
Packages are also known for the separate storage of a liquid and a solid material. In particular, a food storage container known as a xe2x80x9ctwin potxe2x80x9d is available in which a liquid such as yoghurt can be stored separately from a solid such as cereal grains, the solid and liquid being mixed immediately prior to, or at the time of, consumption. A similar xe2x80x9ctwin potxe2x80x9d arrangement is known in which cereal grains are stored in one part and milk in another part.
It is an object of the invention to provide a package for tablets, and in particular tablets of medicant, which avoid or reduce the above stated problems.
According to the invention, there is provided a tablet package in which can be located a predetermined quantity of to tablets, characterised in that the package also contains a predetermined quantity of liquid.
The predetermined quantity of tablets may be one or more, and usually will be determined to be a sufficient number, and/or the tablet(s) can be of sufficient effective strength, for a single dose for an adult for example. The package is therefore primarily intended to be purchased for the immediate relief of a headache or other ailment, rather than for the storage for later use. As such, the package could be sold at petrol stations or other convenient sites and so serve individuals who have need of medication but who are away from their store of medicant. Since the liquid (typically water) is also contained within the package, the user does not need to locate a suitable source for this, and the likelihood of the user taking the tablet(s) without liquid is reduced or avoided.
Preferably, the liquid is stored within a reservoir, and the or each tablet is stored within a sealed compartment located within a closure member for the reservoir. Usefully the tablet is separated from the liquid by a breakable seal carried by the closure member or by the reservoir. Preferably, the package is adapted so that the seal can be broken by the closure member, usefully by the user moving the closure member relative to the reservoir.
In a first embodiment, after the seal has been broken the or each tablet is able to enter the liquid. Such an embodiment is particularly suitable for a soluble tablet.
In a second embodiment there is a grill member located between the reservoir and the compartment which can allow passage of the liquid but prevent passage of the tablet; in this way, the tablet can be retained within the closure member when the seal is broken, and can be carried by the water into the user""s mouth when the package is suitably oriented. Such an embodiment is particularly suitable for a substantially insoluble tablet.
The closure member is usefully in the form of a screw cap which has a threaded engagement with a part of the reservoir.
In a third embodiment, the reservoir and closure member are joined by a predetermined tear or breakage line, the closure member and reservoir being separable by tearing or cutting the package along the line.
The closure member in this embodiment usefully comprises two flexible sheet members, at least one of which is breakable, the tablet being located between the sheet members.
In a fourth embodiment the breakable sheet member is adjacent the reservoir; with soluble tablets in particular, when using such an embodiment the tablet can be pushed through the breakable sheet into the liquid, and subsequently the closure member can be fully or partially removed to allow the liquid and dissolved tablet to be consumed. In use with a substantially insoluble tablet, the closure member may first be removed from the reservoir and the tablet pushed through the breakable sheet to fall onto the user""s hand or other suitable surface, from where it can be placed into the mouth to be carried into the stomach by the subsequent drinking of the liquid.
As above indicated, the tablet may be soluble in the liquid, in which case the package is adapted to allow the tablet(s) to be mixed with the liquid prior to consumption. Alternatively, the tablets may be substantially insoluble, in which case the package is adapted to allow the tablets to be consumed together with or immediately prior to the liquid.
The reservoir may be of flexible material, so that it can be compressed to force the liquid out of the reservoir.
Usefully, the maximum number of tablets in the package is three; preferably the maximum number is two. Accordingly, the package can be sold so as to alleviate the immediate symptoms of a headache or other ailment without likelihood of the user taking an overdose, i.e. it is unlikely that a large number of the packages would be stored by a user for future use, so that the user is not likely to have ready access to the number of tablets necessary to result in a fatal or injurious overdose. In this respect, in the U.K. in particular, it has recently been announced that the maximum number of tablets of certain medicants which can be sold together is to be reduced, in the hope that this will reduce the incidence of fatal or injurious overdoses of certain drugs.
In certain embodiments of the invention, the tablet is stored within a sealed compartment within the closure member, the closure member having an aperture through which either the user may apply pressure to release the tablet from the compartment and into the reservoir, or else the user may dispense the tablet from the compartment.
Usefully also, the sealed compartment is located between two sheets, at least one of the sheets being breakable upon applied pressure to permit release of the tablet. Preferably, the sealed compartment is supplied by a specialist tablet manufacturer or supplier, and comprises a sheet of aluminium foil and a sheet of plastics material surrounding one or more tablets.
Desirably, at least one of the sheets also acts as a seal for the reservoir.
Preferably, one of the sheets is provided by a part of the closure member for the reservoir.